The 104th season of the NHL is over the halfway stage of the most unique of campaigns, that sees the league split into four divisions with teams only playing inter-divisional teams during the regular season.
Playoff contenders have been making themselves known over the opening three months of the season and here are who we think are the current favourites to lift the Stanley Cup in July:
Colorado Avalanche
Sitting second in the West Division behind only the Vegas Golden Knights with both franchises looking comfortable to make the playoffs. No surprise that both teams are among the sportsbooks’ picks to win the grand prize at the end of the season. At this stage you may want to back the Colorado Avalanche with a bonus that is attainable by signing up for the first time.
Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche reaches to cover the puck against James van Riemsdyk #25 of the Philadelphia Flyers
Only two teams have outscored the Colorado Avalanche to this point whilst they have won eight of 10 games in April so far, only hindered by three games being rescheduled for next month. That has given Jared Bednar’s a rest during the month but makes their schedule a lot busier next month.
Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have been the attacking stars in the team to date whilst goaltender Philipp Grubauer is having a solid campaign at the other end of the ice rink. The Colorado Avalanche have certainly been the team to beat in the NHL so far this season.
Vegas Golden Knights
There’s every chance the West Division will have a representative in this season’s Stanley Cup finals. And that team could be the Vegas Golden Knights, who have been among the immediate favourites even before the season began.
Las Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (#29) looks to the boards for the puck as Right Wing Dale Weise (#22) of the Philadelphia Flyers and Defenseman Colin Miller (#6) of the Las Vegas Golden Knights battle for position.
In only their fourth season in the NHL, Peter DeBoer’s side are yet to miss the post-season and this campaign doesn’t look to be changing that. Currently the top team in the whole of the league with 34 wins and with a significantly better defensive record than any other team to this point.
Vegas are on a nine-game winning streak with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty their leading point scorers. In all, their squad is so strong that they have a handful of top players who don’t even suit up on gameday as a result.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Some have lost confidence in the defending champions because of an inconsistent April that has seen Tampa Bay Lightning fail to win more than two consecutive games, losing five in total. They actually ended March with three successive defeats too.
Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning
Jon Cooper’s side are currently down in third place in the Central Division but with a comfortable lead over their rivals who are on the outside of the playoff spots looking in.
A roster that includes Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov won’t have a problem making the post-season, but can they go all the way? With Andrei Vasilevskiy arguably being the top goaltender in the NHL again this season they absolutely have what it takes to retain their trophy.
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